Improved construction and defense of war-vessels



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS TUFTS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,014, dated March 24, 1863.

To all whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that l. Orts TUEtrs, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massa chusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Construction of Armored Vessels; and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawings which accompany and form part of this specification, is a description of my invention sufticient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a portion of a vcssels side embodying my invention, in which ligure portions of different layers are shown as removed in order to represent other layers beneath, for convenience in showing the detail of construction. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section taken in the line y y, seen in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section taken in the line z z, seen in Fig. l. Figs. 4 and 5 are elevations of another form of xture in the hull, diftering in shape only from those shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3.

The construction ofthe hull, which is of iron, is as follows: When the distance below the water-line required for the armor and its thickness is determined. the vessels frames a are bent inward, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3; or they may be cut oif and set inward, resting on and rmly secured to the iron declrand iron deckbeams, which would then be located at the oif-set, the fra-mes of the lower part of the hull being bent so as to form the beams of this deck. Thus when the plating b of the hull is finished there will be formed on the outside of the vessel a recess, bearing the relation to the water-line determined upon and corresponding` to the dimensions ot' the proposed armor, so that the external form of the armor is made to conform to the true lines of the vessel, and thereby these and the form and symmetry of the hull are as perfect as they otherwise could have been, provided no armor had been incorporated in the structure, and from the external appearance of the vessel her armor could not be readily detected. The defensive armor is composed alternately of horizontal layers c of iron plates and timbers d, and a suitable number of wrought-iron screw-bolts, e, of proper diameter, passing vertically through the layers of wood and iron, the lower ends of the bolts, or of the lower set of bolts, being jointed to fixtures in the shelf of the described recess, the detail of which connection will be described beyond. By means of screws and nuts on these vertical bolts the layers c and d, are not only secured to the shelf of the recess, but. are powerfully compressed. Some of the bolts in the first layer are longer than others and project beyond it and the iirst layer of iron sufliciently to pass through the next layers of wood and iron, so that by these bolts, and by others which have their heads under the first layer ot'iron, the second layer of wood is compressed. The bolts in the rest of the mass are thus alternated throughout, though it is not neededI that they should do more than pass from beneath one layer of iron to above the layer of iron next adjacent above. By means of horizontal bolts f which are jointed to fixtures secured in the hull, in the manner to be hereinafter described, the defensive armor is so secured to the hull as to add greatly to its strength in all the strains resulting from sea-service or incident to acting as a rain, or in resisting attack from a ram. These horizontal bolts pass through the layers of timbers and through vertical iron straps g, which are let in flush with or below the outer surface of the timbers, and which act as washers. The outer surface of the timbers may then be dressed off and covered with plankin g, h, which can be calked and graved in the same manner as in a wooden ship. Plating i can then be secured to the armor already incorporated with the ship, being secured thereunto by means of bolts or screws terminating' n the wooden layers. This plating may be of any desired thickness, and will deaden the first shock and disperse it over a large area of the compound armor behind it, which in turn will disperse the shock over a very much greater area of the plating b.

ln the drawings, j represents the iron berth deck, and lc the iron gun-deck, above which the plating b is shown as extending to where it is joined by a continuation of the outer armor, t', which, with the plating, is inclined, forming an inclined-surfaced casemate. When more outer iron plating is required than is shown, the planking h or the compound armor may be reduced in thickness, or the depth of the recess may be increased.

The fixture m, to which the bolts e and f are jointed, is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, as a 2' secu heavy eyebolt, with a stout flange against the plating b, through which the bodyr of the bolt passes and is riveted on the inside of the plating, holding this together when it is formed, as I propose, of two or more thicknesses; or the end ot' the body ofthe bolt which passes through the plating b can be screw-threaded and secured by al nut. The bolts e and f, which take into the eye of the ixtures m, are hook-shaped at one end and screw-threaded at the other. This arrangement, it will be seen, permits play and yield of the bolt in the eye of m, so that the bolt can give back a little without breaking or becoming detached from m; but it will be seen, and it is intended, that the relative sizes of e andf, as compared with m, are such that the bolts will both break and bend Without injury t0 the Xture m. Thus the fastenings of the armor to the hull maybe destroyed and yet leave the hull intact, so far as the formation of leaks by starting of through-fastenings is concerned. The outer head of m may be formed as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, instead ot' with the eye, in which case the end of the bolt jointed thereto is not formed into a hook, but is flattened and has a hole made therein for reception of the connecting pin or rivet a,

which unites the bolt with the 'xture. In this ease it may be Well to slot the hole, so that the bolt can be driven backward like the hook formation.

I claim- 1. In the construction of iron war-ships, the recess in the sides, substantially as and for the purpose described, such recesses being formed by bending inwardly the frames and armor to the'hull.

OTIS TUFTS. In presence of- EDM. F. BROWN, WALTER EVANs. 

